Ko-olau Golds -- NICE!

Inspired by a couple of beers, I restrung both of my ukuleles last night and had some very good results!

I put the D'Addario Nyltechs (EJ88T) with a wound D'Addario Pro-Arte .029 (J4504) as a low-G on my Kanilea K-1T Premium and it sounds great. This is the second set of these that I have put on there and it works very well. The low-ish tension allows the lightly braced top to really sing and the wound blends in pretty well with the plain strings. They're remind me of the J71s (which I like) but a bit softer in tension and mellow in tone. On a Kanilea tenor, these strings seem to work pretty well if you're after more of a deep and resonant tone. There's sparkle on the strings, but not a lot of sizzle. I suspect I could find something better, but they're pretty damn close. Grade: B+A-.

Then I put some Ko'olau Golds on my Collings UT-1. First of all, these strings look sweet. The gold on the rosewood and satin finished mahogany -- this works well -- but they also sound awesome. I've had Aquilas, J71s, Worths (CM and CT), but nothing really sounded quite like this. They have the warmth of a fat nylon string (and the C string is quite fat), but the clarity and brilliance of a Worth. They also feel really good, smooth, almost a little slick, not too tight, but they do give enough resistance to allow a little spank -- these are winners. Of course longevity is the question... However, if they stay like this: A.

If you haven't tried them yet, a set of Ko-olau Golds might just be the thing you're looking for...

My mango tenor loves the Ko'Olau golds. Great sound and nearly perfect intonation all the way up the neck. I recently (as in within the last two weeks) bought some fresh sets for the tenor and ordered a concert set and soprano set to try out on a couple of other ukes. I put the concert set on the KoAloha longneck soprano expecting to love them but they just didn't work there. Intonation up the neck was quite poor. I also would have had to widen the nut slot for the C to fit the wide string. Put the nearly new CM strings back on the KoAloha!

I moved them to the mango soprano and it is pretty much the same story there. I like their individual tone - but they just don't intonate well up the neck and, again, I'd have to widen that C-slot; which I would be perfectly willing to do if they intonated well up the neck but they don't. Of course, they're concert strings so I can't complain too loudly about them not working well on a soprano. Still, the Worth CH intonate very well on the mango soprano and they aren't exactly your typical soprano strings.

I'll still try the Ko'Olau gold soprano strings on the mango soprano. I really did like the slightly softer more mellow tone. But, if those don't intonate well either then it will be back to the CH strings on it.

Just shows it pays to experiment with strings on every uke 'cause you can't necessarily carry experience on one to another.

John

i enjoy k golds greatly

Try the Ko'olau Alohis...I find I like them better...and not as thick stringed.

mm stan said:

Try the Ko'olau Alohis...I find I like them better...and not as thick stringed.

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I've been playing Ko'olau Alohis on my Kamaka Soprano for a couple of months now. They sound great for fingerpicking, with a ring to them that reminds me of tapping a wine glass with a knife. I don't like them as well strummed, but I don't strum much on this uke.

But they have a strange problem: as they warm up while I'm playing, they go out-of tune (sharp) quite noticeably. Not sure if it's the ukulele or the strings, but I didn't have this problem until I put the Alohi's on. Do other people have this problem with Ko'olau Alohi strings going out of tune?

Millbrook said:

...But they have a strange problem: as they warm up while I'm playing, they go out-of tune (sharp) quite noticeably. Not sure if it's the ukulele or the strings, but I didn't have this problem until I put the Alohi's on. Do other people have this problem with Ko'olau Alohi strings going out of tune?

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Wow...that's interesting you mention that because that is one of the things I didn't like about the Gold concert strings when I had them on either the longneck soprano or my mango soprano. I just put the soprano gold strings on the soprano and I hope they don't do the same thing.

That's the first time I've ever encountered strings going sharp while playing and it was not by an insignificant amount - I could easily hear it and that after only a few minutes of play (the strings didn't go sharp together so chords quickly became blechh). Checked it with a tuner and, sure enough, couple of the strings were four to six cents sharp. That happened several times even after the strings had stretched in pretty good.

I've never encountered this with the Ko'Olau gold strings on my tenor. I hope the soprano strings that I just put on the soprano don't do this either. I'm letting them stretch in overnight so I guess tomorrow will tell. I like the tone, but I can't have strings going sharp every few minutes when I'm playing!

Kind of makes me afraid to change out those Golds on my tenor, too, because they might have changed the content of the string. At one point they discontinued the Golds, and the set currently on my tenor were some NOS that I got with a used uke, I wonder if the new Golds are actually different?

John

Tried the Ko'olau Golds on my Mya-Moe Tenor. Could not get them to stay in tune. I thought they sounded good, but for about a month I just struggled with them.

Love Ko'olau Gold baritone strings---they sound great, they're durable, and they feel terrific---on my Kala KA-B. Love them.

Just strung up a bamboo soprano with Golds (with a wound 4th string) this week. Still stretching---and going sharp---but sounding and feeling terrific.

I really like the golds as well, right now I have them on two of my three ukes. I have just sent for a low g gold set to try on the Compass Rose, I don't care for the low g Aquila strings that it came with. I have found once they are done stretching though, they stay in tune very well for me.

Well...they've only had about 16 hours to stretch in but so far I love the Gold soprano strings on my mango soprano and tuned to D - though they are showing that wierd tendency to go sharp when played, though not as much as the concert strings did, and, more evenly in that all the strings are moving pretty much together so at least the chords aren't going wonky real fast.

They aren't fully settled yet and they are at least usable so I'll give them a full week to settle in before I decide whether to go back to the CH strings. The intonation up the neck is very nearly perfect when tuned to D, and I've been wanting a soprano tuned to D, so if these ever stop going sharp I'll probably stay with these. I definitely like the tone - a little more mellow than either the CM or CH strings I've used on this uke. It tends to be really bright with the CH strings, but the intonation was great and I love the stiffer feel.

In the mean time I've got a theory about the strings going sharp, but I'll have to wait until they fully stretch in before I can even attempt to follow up on that. These strings are a little thicker than even other Nylon strings I've had, and they seem pretty soft (very easily damaged, too, as I discovered when I put the concert strings on the KoAloha).

Anyway, my theory is that because they are thick and soft they are going sharp when played not because of temperature, but because of the way we tune. We've always been taught to start low and tune up to pitch, for two reasons (takes up slack in geared tuners and if you are ear tuning it makes it easy to listen for the beat note to slow and finally stop). Anyway, if the strings are binding a bit in the nut then the tendency would be for the tension to go noticeably higher between the nut and the tuner than it is between the nut and the bridge. Then, when one starts strumming, the vibration loosens the binding and the string tensions equalize, raising the tension on the played part slightly. So far that's just a theory. Once the strings settle in fully I'm going to test this by tuning down to pitch and see if the strings go flat or at least don't go sharp.

I thought about this because of my Kala UBASS - the big soft rubbery strings tend to bind in the nut and to tune it you have to twist the tuner a bit then lift the string above the nut so the tension can equalize. I'm hoping the same thing is happening with the golds just on a smaller scale because if it is, that is something that is pretty easy to work around.

John

That's pretty darned insightful, John. Your theory may have some credibility, even if tuning "downward" to the proper tone doesn't bear it out. My K Golds also seem to "go sharp" on my Pono concert. They did on my Kiwaya tenor, too.

I like the thickness and the ease on the fingers. I think they sound lovely. Although not the loudest strings right out of the packet, they certainly havs a brilliant dynamic range, and are tuneful and warm. I think in a past post Andrew mentioned that they were originally for classical guitars. Makes sense.

Addendum: Here's what John Kitakis, father of Andrew, wrote to a UU'er that I copied off another thread (it wasn't written to me, just posted on UU by someone else, and copied here) for the brief time that Golds were discontinued in 2010 (they have since been brought back by popular demand):

Hi, there are two reasons for discontinuing our Ko'olau Gold strings. One is the difficulty in actually getting the bulk string material to Hawaii. Manufacturing is in Argentina, from a 4th generation string maker, but the cost of the strings and shipping is too high. The other reason is that although the that particular nylon sounds great, they are also very sensitive. Especially at the nut and saddle contact area, the string is very susceptible to bending and abrasion, and this in turn occasionally causes poor intonation. This particular nylon has been used for flamenco guitars for a long time, and the tone is beautiful, but the player needs to handle them with care, not tuning up and down and the usual tugging to stretch them out. Actually they are one of the few nylon strings that did not need to "break in" so to speak. But because of all of the above, it became too much trouble.

We feel that our two new lines of strings will take care of most players. The Mahana (Hawaiian for warmth) string is a clear nylon, producing a similar warm tone as the Gold string. And our new 'Alohi (pronounced ah-low-hee, and defined as bright or brilliant) is a monofilament florocarbon string which as most Ukulele Underground forum readers know is a hard and dense material producing a brighter, more direct projection.

As for availability we still have stock of most sets, but a few are running low and customers order direct from our website, so I thought it would be best to discontinue. However if anyone wants what remains they can contact us for availability. And I suppose if the demand becomes a big issue I will consider continuing them.
aloha, John Kitakis

So, John, that goes right along with what you have theorized. You da man!

Oldephart - I tried them on a couple of ukes and found exactly the same thing. Shame, they have a real sweet tone, but they are so sensitive to tuning. I have not known a string react so wildly to changes in temperature as these. Stopped using them.

coolkayaker1 said:

That's pretty darned insightful, John. Your theory may have some credibility, even if tuning "downward" to the proper tone doesn't bear it out. My K Golds also seem to "go sharp" on my Pono concert. They did on my Kiwaya tenor, too.

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Thanks Steve. I'm leaning harder and harder to that theory, especially after the post from John K that you quoted. I decided to do a little more experimenting. I found that if when tuning I lift the strings as I mentioned that I have to on the UBASS they don't seem to go sharp afterwards, or not as much. Could be wishful thinking, but seems to be the case. The trouble is it's very finicky because you have to tweak just a little, then stop before it's quite in tune, lift the string, check it again, etc. It definitely does go a little sharper when you lift it and set it back. Kind of a pain, though probably won't be so bad once they stop stretching in and it doesn't have to be done so often.

These strings are definitely easily damaged - I kinked one when I was installing the concerts on the KoAloha. Fortunately, the kink was right at the bridge so I had enough string to start over. I can see where stretching these in manually could mess them up, though. Especially if you're one that stretches by "twisting" the string along its length.

Fortunately, a while back after reading one of Ken's posts I stopped manually stretching the strings. It hasn't honestly seemed to make any difference, i.e. I don't think that stretching them was causing any problems at least with the Seaguar leaders I usually use. Still, I usually try not to play a uke the same day I install strings anyway. I just keep tuning it up all evening as I think of it (tuning one full step over what I plan to tune it to). Then just before bed I do it one more time. Usually by the next day they have stretched out to somewhere close to my intended tuning and are stable enough to be playable at that point. That's what I did with these gold's, too, except that I ended up keeping them at the D tuning instead of letting them slide back to C.

Whn I was tuning and lifting a little bit ago I noticed that the C and E slots were pretty tight, in fact the E would come out of the slot with a snap. So, I sanded the sides lightly and the bottom just a touch to smooth up the slots, then I used a .5mm mechanical pencil to "paint" some graphite into each slot. I used to do this all the time on my guitars and if it helps with steel strings there is no reason it shouldn't help with nylon strings.

Sometimes it takes two or three applications of graphite for it to work into the nut good. We'll see how it goes.

John

bazmaz said:

Oldephart - I tried them on a couple of ukes and found exactly the same thing. Shame, they have a real sweet tone, but they are so sensitive to tuning. I have not known a string react so wildly to changes in temperature as these. Stopped using them.

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Yeah...the tone is just too good to pass up though, if we can figure out how to get them to hold tuning. Once they stabilize I don't mind doing the turn and lift thing if need be. I don't think I'd care for these on a mahogany uke but on a bright uke like mango they really sweeten things up. I've been using them on my mango tenor for several months and they are just amazing (curiously, I haven't really had any tuning issues with them on that - I think maybe the slots are wider by quite a bit).

They really make this mango soprano sound amazing - it was really good with Seaguar leaders in CM gages and very good, extremely loud, and with great intonation with the leaders in CH gages, but it was a bit overpoweringly bright with both (much brighter than my Koa uke). With the Golds tuned to D the intonation is great, volume good, and tone amazing - still chimier than CH on my mahogany soprano, but not quite so in-your-face.

John

John, you may have something again with your nut talk. If the strings are, indeed, softer than normal strings, and if they ride up in the nut slot as you've observed, perhaps they glide along slightly and go out of tune, and in doing so "skin" the nylon a bit, making it even more likely to occur as time goes on.

If well seated in a proper nut slot for the fatter strings (like your other uke), this is all less likely to occur. I think you may well be right.

If that is all true, wouldn't the slightly higher "D" tuning with string tension increase make an improper nut slot even that much more unforgiving for staying in tune. Perhaps that is what you--and most of us--are experiencing, too. -- Steve

coolkayaker1 said:

John, you may have something again with your nut talk. If the strings are, indeed, softer than normal strings, and if they ride up in the nut slot as you've observed, perhaps they glide along slightly and go out of tune, and in doing so "skin" the nylon a bit, making it even more likely to occur as time goes on.

If well seated in a proper nut slot for the fatter strings (like your other uke), this is all less likely to occur. I think you may well be right.

If that is all true, wouldn't the slightly higher "D" tuning with string tension increase make an improper nut slot even that much more unforgiving for staying in tune. Perhaps that is what you--and most of us--are experiencing, too. -- Steve

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You might be right, but they sound so good in D on this uke

They're still stretching in so I'm getting a lot of practice at the "tune and lift" technique and I think I'm getting a little better at it. I think once they've settled in I'll be happy enough. THey're still binding a little, I will probably rub some more graphite in - I know on guitars it sometimes took a few times before the nut got really slick.

John

I agree, John. They sound like a million bucks. They really do sound like gold!

Millbrook said:

I've been playing Ko'olau Alohis on my Kamaka Soprano for a couple of months now. They sound great for fingerpicking, with a ring to them that reminds me of tapping a wine glass with a knife. I don't like them as well strummed, but I don't strum much on this uke.

But they have a strange problem: as they warm up while I'm playing, they go out-of tune (sharp) quite noticeably. Not sure if it's the ukulele or the strings, but I didn't have this problem until I put the Alohi's on. Do other people have this problem with Ko'olau Alohi strings going out of tune?

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Yep, got the same thing going with my Keli'i tenor with Alohi string. I keep it tuned when warmed up. So, I just have to warm it up bit and it is fine.

I tried them on my Concert and while I liked the sound, I didn't like the feel of them, too "hard." http://ukemafia.com/off-with-the-golds-on-with-the-fluorocarbons/

Last year I took my Cordoba concert to a luthier (actually Sam Ash repsir guy) because the Aquila C woulndt stop buzzing. It came back with a Gold in it's place. He explained that it was a guitar string, with much higher tension. It was noticebly harder than the Aquilas, but it didn't buzz.
I recently restrung a friend's cheap soprano uke with a set of Golds. She loves them, says it's a different uke!